Group A Cockayne Syndrome

Medical Condition:
Group A Cockayne Syndrome

An inherited syndrome phenotypically characterized by unusual facies (large ears and sunken eyes), growth failure, intellectual deterioration, loss of subcutaneous fat, pigmentary retinal degeneration, neural deafness, dwarfism, photosensitivity, optic atrophy, peripheral neuropathy, and cataracts. Pathologic examination reveals a patchy loss of central myelin and white matter atrophy. Cockayne syndrome may be divided into two or more distinct genetic subtypes. (Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p197)